In 1981, when oil prices spiked following the Iranian Revolution, gasoline represented nearly 5% of the nation's spending, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2011, only 3.7% of spending went to gas, even though prices averaged at their highest level ever that year.

In addition to spending less, we're driving more than ever -- 90% more than compared to the early '80s, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

This isn't to say high gas prices don't hurt -- they do, especially for people living paycheck-to-paycheck or those that drive a lot.

But for the average American household, which has an income of over $62,000 a year, the increase in gas prices represents a relatively small portion of total spending.

For example, in 2008 gas prices were all over the news when they hit their all time high. But in 2010 when prices fell people barely mentioned them.

Yet spending on gas totaled only $12 more per week in 2008 than in 2010, according to numbers provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That $12 per week is roughly the same amount that BLS figures show people spent on "pets, toys, hobbies and playground equipment."

"The incremental expenditure is not that much," said Akshay Rao, a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management who has studied gas prices. "But that's not how people think about it."

Moreover, today's high prices don't appear to be having a big drag on the economy.

"There's certainly discontent, but I'm not convinced there is real rage," said Rao.

After all, most analysts agree: The basic reason why prices have moved higher over the last few years is that the world is using ever more of this product and we have to go to greater lengths to find new supplies.

That's expensive. And dangerous -- people actually die in this quest to find new supplies. Many Americans may have at least a vague understanding of that.

"But everybody is telling them they should be mad, so they say 'OK,'" said Rao.